Michael G. Munz

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My First Cosplay: Part 3 – At the Con

March 29, 2017 By Michael G. Munz Leave a Comment

The third and final part of a series of posts about my first cosplay experience. Follow the links if you missed part one or part two…​

So I had my Imperial Naval Officer costume assembled. With Emerald City Comic Con fast approaching, I had a place to wear it. Yet before I could get there in all my newfound glory, I had to figure out how to deal with the one thing I’d more or less forgotten about when starting this whole endeavor:

Storage.

As a guy who regularly wears pants (and in cooler months, a coat) with all of the pockets I need, it was something I never had to think about before. But as I mentioned in part 2, the pants for this cosplay had no pockets. Wearing my usual coat around would defeat the purpose of cosplay. So where was I going to put my wallet? My keys? A snack that I’ll surely want at some point while wandering through a convention hall filled with people?

I suddenly realized what those little toaster droids running around Imperial facilities are. Mobile pocket droids! (I mean, sure, they also deliver fresh Pop Tarts to the loyal servants of the Empire, but I’m sure officers must have a few of those suckers follow them around holding their stuff, right?) Not being blessed with such a droid, I went with a less high-tech solution.

Star Wars Imperial Toaster Droid

I bet the admirals get TWO of these!

First, for things like cash, driver’s license, ATM card, etc, I turned to a solution that I’d already had in my closet from days of international travel. I took a flat pouch designed to be worn around the neck, beneath clothing, and slid it in between the flaps of the jacket. The high collar hid the neck strap, and I used some velcro inside to affix it right at the center of my chest. Now if I needed cash (or my driver’s license, God forbid, got pulled over while driving to the con in costume), I just undid one snap and slipped my hand inside. Plus it was flat enough to where it didn’t show on the outside of the jacket.

Originally designed for defeating wallet thieves during travel.

As for the keys and a snack, the hat turned out to be a treasure trove of discreet storage space. Those flaps? The one in the back was the perfect spot to hide a key fob. After securing the flap with velcro to keep it closed over the key, it wasn’t noticeable. Those hats also have some extra space in the top, especially if you don’t have any hair taking up space. You know what fits there perfectly? A CLIF bar, secured with tape, of course!

I like to think I’m not usually quite this pale when a camera flash isn’t going off right next to my skin.

Finally, since I didn’t want to have to always be carrying my phone in my hand, I snagged a little black belt pouch it could fit it. (The realization that such a thing could be useful came only two nights before the con. Fortunately it was cheap, and I was able to get Amazon to send it my way fast and free of shipping charges.)

It has a magnetic seal (so blasters are no good), but I added a tiny bit of velcro just for an audible alert if anyone did try to pull my phone out when I wasn’t looking.

But finally, the day came! I got everything on, got into the car, and drove to downtown Seattle, wondering at each stop light in my own neighborhood if anyone was looking closely at what drivers were wearing (and secretly hoping they were). Once I’d parked, got out of the car to get my hat, belt, phone pouch, and lightsaber properly attached, I headed through the convention parking garage, feeling honestly quite proud of how I looked. Before I even got out of the garage and into the con itself, I’d started getting compliments.

I met up with two friends there, Trisha and Ethan. While I spent a lot of time hanging out with them, I also spent a lot of time by myself, either attending a panel or two, or just, frankly, wandering looking at merchandise and gear while letting my cosplay be seen.

That’d be my friend Trisha going as Death from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman series. (Photo by Ethan, who came dressed as Ethan from the real life series.)

I’m not the best with crowds. While I can be outgoing when I have to be, I’m certainly on the introverted side of the spectrum. In the past, I never interacted much with strangers at cons, and always felt a little out of place. This time, things felt very different. People were coming up to me, complimenting my costume, talking to me about it, and asking to take pictures. The fact that I was effectively wearing my geekiness on the outside made it somehow much easier to be comfortable around others who were doing the same.

Stopping to pose in the Starbucks Death Star location…

Essentially, it was the best con experience I’ve ever had, and I can’t imagine NOT going to a con without a costume in the future.

“I can’t abide those Jawas. Disgusting creatures.”

You’ll notice the little red ribbon tied around the lightsaber to mark it as safe. This puzzled me. It wasn’t a working lightsaber, after all.
Oh, also look! Lego Seahawks Batman!

This photo was taken by Vader’s girlfriend, who was cosplaying Hera from Rebels. I really wish this hadn’t come out blurry, but it was still fun.

The storage worked well. My keys didn’t fall out, and the CLIF bar was put to good use. It was a little hard to use my phone to take pictures with those black gloves on, but it wasn’t a huge issue. The only downside was that after walking around for almost nine hours in those boots, my feet hated me. Even with the arch support insoles I put in there, the fit was less than ideal. Blisters and aches. I was very happy to get them off, and vowed to find a better pair. Foot comfort is not something to take lightly!

I also spotted this excellent Obi-Wan cosplay in the convention center parking garage!

I’m happy to say that I’ll be doing it all again at Norwescon in just a couple of weeks, this time with some correct Imperial code cylinders that I got my hands on, and (hopefully) new boots. Come by and say hi!
And maybe you’ll even get to see me in my Walter White/Breaking Bad getup. With no hair and a goatee, it’s a natural choice…

My regular glasses don’t quite work, and I need to get a better shirt, but the pork pie hat was cheap!

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Filed Under: Featured, Miscellaneous, Movies and TV Tagged With: cosplay, Emerald City Comic Con, Geek Interest, Imperial Naval Officer, Norwescon, Star Wars

My First Cosplay: Part 2 – Some Assembly Required

March 14, 2017 By Michael G. Munz Leave a Comment

I’d made my decision: I would put together a Star Wars Imperial Naval Officer cosplay in time for this year’s Norwescon. Now I just had to figure out how.

Wait, back up a bit. I actually had to decide between a black uniform or an olive gray uniform. Did you know the olive ones are the standard uniform while the black ones are apparently related to security? I figured I looked better in black–because everyone looks better in black–but being a power-mad author-type, I also wanted to have a uniform that could portray a reasonably high rank. I finally choose power over looks. Looks fade, but power can get you a spectacular karmic death! (Oh boy!) πŸ˜€

After wandering the Internets, I wound up finding the base uniform at a costume place called ANOVOS. The design was an officially licensed replica based on on-screen details, and the place had good reviews, so I figured I wouldn’t be getting something cheap that would a) look like a pair of pajamas when I got it and b) fall apart three days after. Granted, it also had a waiting list, since they didn’t just have these suckers waiting around on racks. It gave me the jacket, the pants, the belt, and that snazzy hat, provided I was willing to wait three months. I hate waiting, but I went with it. (They also had a “premium” outfit for three times the price, though I couldn’t tell any actual difference except that it might have come with the accessories as well. For that price I figured it had better also come with a working sidearm.)

The rank insignia didn’t come with it, but I forgot to remove it when I took the photo, so imagine it’s not there.

While I did need to figure out my measurements in order to order the right sizes for each piece (hat, jacket, pants), it wasn’t custom made. The hat fit perfectly. The pants ended a few inches above my ankles, but they’d be tucked into boots, so that didn’t matter so much so long as the waist fit, which it did. I was saddened to realize that it didn’t have any pockets–despite those extra-wide flairs along the thighs. The jacket, however, needed some work.

The material itself was fantastic. It had a good amount of weight to it, and all the stitching and such looked great. Though you can’t see it in the picture, the jacket is double-breasted, with about eight or nine snaps inside that thing holding it together (it opens from the front and snaps at both shoulders, with others around the midriff), all of which felt rugged and durable. The fasteners at the front of the collar neck were tiny, but well-secured. The sleeve length was great, as was the jacket length. (Is that called hem length? Describing clothing has never been my strength; I should probably look these things up.) Nonetheless, it didn’t quite fit me right around the midriff and below. When I put the belt on, the front would look fine but the back was all bunched up with a bit of extra material.

All official and everything.

I can’t sew, save to re-attach a button, so it was then off to the tailor’s. I confess I felt a little silly asking someone–who clearly had no interest in cosplay or geeky things at all–to alter my costume uniform, but it went well enough, and when I got it back, the fit was much better. I did consider asking them to add some pockets into the pants, but I wasn’t sure if that might make them look inauthentic, and I had some other ideas with regard to storage. Besides, out of context, these pants look fresh from the Third Reich, and I decided it best to avoid any incorrect assumptions about what this uniform was for.

So I had the base outfit! What’s next? No self-respecting officer can wander around a Star Destroyer without footwear! That Seattle staple of socks with sandals was out (Vader was known for strangling officers for less), so I had a look at the movies and then hunted for some appropriate boots. Having spent a fair amount already, and knowing I wouldn’t be wearing these boots outside of the cosplay, I decided to head to Amazon with an eye for matching the look I needed rather than comfort and quality. Finding the right look–without spending a lot–was surprisingly more difficult than I’d expected. They’re basic black boots, I thought. How hard could it be? After reading that the original boots used were used for equestrian events, I finally found some costume boots that fit the bill. Mostly. Frankly it took so long to find them that I confess I decided it was close enough. (It would turn out to be the decision I was least happy about, but more about that later.)

The points at the top don’t quite fit, but at least they’re shiny and black.

I had the broad strokes. Now it was time for the details. If you’re like me, the immediate detail that pops to mind is the little blue and red rectangle rank insignia. The things look basic enough: Blue and red (or yellow) plastic rectangles on a larger shiny rectangle. Surely that was something I could get from a craft store. But what rank should I make? WhatΒ are the ranks, anyway?

Star Wars Imperial Naval Ranks

You’d think that would be a relatively simple question to answer, but thanks to some inconsistencies in the films’ costuming, it gets a little tricky. I decided to go with what seems to be a generally accepted chart I found on Wookieepedia.

The four blue, four red insignia (admiral/commodore/commander) satisfied both my need for flexibility and ambition, so I went with that. Yet my search through craft stores turned out to be more difficult than anticipated. I wound up heading to Etsy looking for supplies when I realized that hey, there are people on Etsy making the full insignia. Unable to resist the convenience, I found a nice one with a magnetic backing to hold it on.

No, they’re not Chicklets.

Now I’d be willing to bet that the average person familiar with Star Wars, if presented with all of those assembled items, would get the feeling that something was missing without being quite able to identify what. The missing piece? Those little silvery whoosits tucked into the shoulder pockets! During my research on ranks, I discovered that those are known as code cylinders, and intended to hold various access codes and security keys that an officer might need to get into high security places like the Star Destroyer engine room or Death Star Human Resources file room. The original ones made for the movies were from small radiation dosimeters, but those turned out to be a little expensive. So, back to Etsy! According to the rank chart, I needed one for each shoulder, which were soon easily found and ordered from a guy in Italy who makes ’em.

You can also take them out and whack people in the forehead when they mouth off.

And here’s where I made a tiny mistake. I forgot that the Rebels have code cylinders also, and those look a bit different. Soon after my order shipped, I realized my error: I’d ordered the Rebel kind. At this point I was a little worn out–and starting to worry about my spending–so I compromised and figured I’d go with those, for now. Only a tiny bit of them poked out, after all. Who would really notice?

The final touch, which I really only realized after the costume was all put together, was that hey, don’t Imperial officers wear black gloves? By sheer coincidence, I’d only just bought some new black gloves to, ya know, keep my hands warm, and they were exactly what the outfit needed. I don’t know what it says about me that I like wearing black leather gloves favored by an oppressive galactic military regime, but I guess style is style, right?

Accessories accepted, Captain Needa…

So there it was. I had everything all set to go. I just needed for a place to wear it. Fortunately, Emerald City Comic Con was right around the corner.

But more on that later in part 3…
(Missed part 1? Read it here.)

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Filed Under: Featured, Miscellaneous, Movies and TV Tagged With: ANOVOS, cosplay, Geek Interest, Imperial Naval Officer, Star Wars

My First Cosplay: Part 1 – The Beginning

March 5, 2017 By Michael G. Munz Leave a Comment

You’re never too old to start cosplaying. Or, at least, I can confidently say that if you’re my age or younger, you’re never too old to start. (Beyond that, I have no personally verifiable data.) For about the last five years–which coincides with my first ever visit to Emerald City Comic Con–I’ve had an itch to try to put together a cosplay. It wasn’t a major itch, like the kind you might go to the doctor about, but rather one of those minor itches on your calf that you notice only mildly most times as you walk save for the times when you’re in the shower and the hot water hits it just right.

I think this metaphor may be getting away from me, but from time to time I thought about trying to put together something simple, like a Firefly cosplay of Mal. Shouldn’t be too hard, right? Though it has to look good. The right kind of beige slacks. A wine-colored shirt. Leather suspenders with those weird loops on the bottom you don’t really find easily. Plus a duster, and, oh, a pistol just like he has otherwise people won’t know what I’m doing and aren’t those kind of expensive and Nathan Fillion has a lot more hair than I do and… Wow, this is no longer simple, is it?

Malcolm Reynolds - Firefly

Oh, and I guess the gloves. And the belt.

So I’m a bit of a perfectionist. If I did something, I wanted it to look good, and if I wanted it to look good, it would take a fair bit of time, and if it took a fair bit of time, then when will I find the time, and ooh, I should go eat some chocolate or write or play a game and look at the shiny thing over there! So, yeah, it never quite got off the ground. Yet the itch was still there.

And the itch remained, waiting for the right kind of scratch, like a pile of gunpowder waiting for a match (or a mixed metaphor waiting for an editor, I guess). The scratch/match finally turned out to be related to my books, specifically my intent to start being more visible as an author and sell my books at cons. How much more fun would it be (and yes, how much more eye-catching) if I had a good cosplay? So, I committed myself: By the time Norwescon came around again, I’d be going to sell my books, and I’d have a costume.

So, who/what to dress as? As I’d recently surrendered to my thinning hair enough to shave my head entirely, Captain Mal wasn’t an option without a wig. I needed a cosplay that was either already bald, or used a hat. Long story short, I decided on an Imperial Navy officer from Star Wars.

Star Wars Imperial Naval Officer

Captain Piett’s “garlic gum” practical joke goes horribly wrong.

I’d get the crisp cut of a sharp uniform, the fun of playing a powerful, arrogant character, and it’s got a hat! What’s not to like? (Plus I could add myΒ lightsaber to the cosplay and be a guy with his own Star Destroyer who also started to learn a little about the Force while Vader wasn’t looking…) Now I just had to figure out how to do it so that I wound up with something that looked good that I’d be proud to wear.

And here’s where I probably diverge from a lot of more dedicated cosplayers. I don’t know how to sew. I’m not good with crafting. There are some people out there who can put together INCREDIBLE cosplays that I couldn’t hope to hold a candle to, and also some people who love to cosplay for the pleasure of putting it together.Β I have huge respect for those people. I, however, am not one of those people. I don’t have the time to devote to the hobby. So I guess you could say I took the quick and easy path: I decided to save up little by little and throw money at the problem…

Next in my cosplay experience: Putting it all together…

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Filed Under: Featured, Miscellaneous, Movies and TV Tagged With: cosplay, Geek Interest, Star Wars

Mismatched Star Wars Quotes

February 4, 2017 By Michael G. Munz 2 Comments

When you’ve watched Star Wars as much as I have (and God help you if you have), you’ve probably got the majority of the films floating around in your head. Video clips. Audio clips. Weird theories. (SNOKE IS LUKE SKYWALKER’S CLONE!!!) And, again, if you’re like me, you sometimes get them a little mixed up.

The other day on Twitter I ran across a black and white still from The Empire Strikes Back with Vader and Boba Fett standing in the carbon freeze chamber. For some reason, my mind attached a couple of quotes from a different part of the saga to the image. It made me laugh, so I made it into an image and tweeted it out.

Viola.

From there, I decided that hey, why not make this a thing? So, for good or ill, I set to work. The first batch you can see below…

I’ll probably continue this trend in the future.Β Follow me on Twitter to see them when new mismatched quotes appear, and feel free to make or suggest your own!

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Filed Under: Featured, Movies and TV Tagged With: Geek Interest, Humor, Mismatched Star Wars quotes, Star Wars

Anxious!

May 31, 2016 By Michael G. Munz Leave a Comment

So with today being the last day my old publisher is in business, and my being nervous about making sure my books get transferred back to me and set up again for sale properly, you might say I’m a little anxious. How anxious? Well I’m glad you asked, hypothetical person! I’ve been venting a bit on Twitter…

Big day today.
Anxious as a red shirt marooned alone with Captain Kirk.

β€” Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) May 31, 2016

Anxious as an Imperial Stormtrooper at the shooting range.

β€” Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) May 31, 2016

Anxious as a travel agent for LV-426.

β€” Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) May 31, 2016

Anxious as Batman at a father-son picnic.

β€” Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) May 31, 2016

Anxious as Gollum at the jewelry store.

β€” Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) May 31, 2016

Anxious as James Bond at the STD clinic.

β€” Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) May 31, 2016

Anxious as Linda Blair at a pea soup cook off.

β€” Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) May 31, 2016

Anxious as a wookiee playing sabaac against an armless droid.

β€” Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) May 31, 2016

Anxious as a lone dalek in London.

β€” Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) May 31, 2016

Anxious as Dire Straits watching VH1.#improbablydatingmyself

β€” Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) May 31, 2016

As anxious as GlaDOS when she is no longer able to flood the Enrichment Center with a deadly neurotoxin.

β€” Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) May 31, 2016

Anxious as Sarah Connor in the Apple Store.

β€” Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) May 31, 2016

Anxious as Chris Evans reading the latest Captain America comic.

β€” Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) May 31, 2016

Anxious as a snake on a plane with Samuel L. Jackson.

β€” Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) May 31, 2016

Anxious as Indiana Jones having to partner with Snake Plisken.

β€” Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) May 31, 2016

Anxious as Serenity pilot Hoban “Wash” Washburne taking a poll.

β€” Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) May 31, 2016

Anxious as Deadpool in a G-rated film.

β€” Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) May 31, 2016

Anxious as someone fighting a land war against a Sicilian in Asia.

β€” Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) May 31, 2016

Anxious as the planetary governor of Alderaan who just noticed a new, unexplained moon in the sky.

β€” Michael G. Munz (@TheWriteMunz) May 31, 2016

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Filed Under: Books, Featured, Miscellaneous Tagged With: anxious, Booktrope, Geek Interest, Humor, Star Trek, Star Wars, twitter

My Lightsaber Arrives!

February 16, 2016 By Michael G. Munz 4 Comments

As I mentioned previously, IΒ recently made one of those Big Life Purchases: I bought a lightsaber. I promised to bring you more details and show it off when it arrived, and finally, I am bringing!

The saber, a modified “Dark Menace” model from Ultrasabers, arrived in a long, slim box, ensconced in bubble wrap, with the blade already attached. I’m happy to report that UltraSabers had charged the batteries as well, so I was able to light that sucker up right out of the box without having to be patient any further. They also included the battery charger and little hilt display stand I’d asked for. The special silver pommel I’d ordered to swap out the stock Dark Menace pommel had already arrived, so I swiftly attached that.

my Dark Menace saber

My own Dark Menace, with a customized pommel and other wee tweaks. LOOK AT THE AWESOME!

[Read more…]

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Filed Under: Featured, Miscellaneous Tagged With: Dark Menace, Geek Interest, Lightsaber, Review, Star Wars, Ultrasabers

So, I Bought a Lightsaber…

February 2, 2016 By Michael G. Munz Leave a Comment

That’s right, I’ve made what’s arguably my geekiest purchase ever: I now own a lightsaber. Or, at least, a reasonably convincing facsimile of one. I’m sorry to say that it will not actually slice through walls, speeder bikes, or tauntauns. On the other hand, given how often I accidentally cut myself with mundane items, that’s probably for the best. Still, this sucker could probably break a bone or two if swung hard enough, so it may still be ideal for home defense. [Read more…]

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Filed Under: Featured, Miscellaneous, Movies and TV Tagged With: Darth Vader, Geek Interest, Lightsabers, Star Wars, Ultrasabers

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